Symmetries – Vector Path Software Tool

| George Coghill

Symmetries from Earthlinksoft Software is an interesting symmetrical vector object generator tool.

The control system is very intuitive, requring no knowledge of how to manipulate vector paths. While simplistic, it gives one a high level of control over exploring interesting symmetrical objects. I did find that there seemed to be a bit of a genre of shapes that were the calling card for this tool, but maybe I just didn’t play with it enough.

Symmetries does not generate tiled patterns, but rather single vector objects, which then can be pasted into the vector software of your choosing for futher editing. The demo mode doesn’t allow this, so I couldn’t test it.

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‘Hairy Canary’ T-Shirt Illustration

| George Coghill

 I just finished up a t-shirt illustration – ‘The Hairy Canary‘ – for mail-order/catalog company What On Earth for their pub t-shirts line.

The basic premise of the t-shirt designs are as follows: the artist is given a choice of bar/pub names to choose from, and from there a design is worked up to go with the name. I believe all the bars & pubs are actual places, but these aren’t officially sanctioned or anything.

From the list I was given, the name ‘Hairy Canary’ just jumped out at me and I knew it was a theme that would spark a cool illustration.

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High-Contrast Line Art Illustration Style: Self-Inspiration

| George Coghill

Sometimes (and probably most of the time) merely seeing how an effect is achieved will offer no clues as to what it’s like to create that effect for yourself. Copying or mimicking the effect can help, but those moments where it works within your own artwork should be explored the moment they happen.

When these chance moments appear, when you have that ‘a ha!’ moment, be sure to dig deeper. I’ll share with you a recent ‘eureka’ moment I had while working on a t-shirt illustration project for a client.

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Free ‘Flatting’ Photoshop Plugin For Comic Artists

| George Coghill

Just stumbled across these handy – and free – Photoshop plugins which should be a huge time-saver for comic artists who ink & color their pages in Photoshop. A process also known as ‘flatting’.

These have to be a huge productivity booster to any artist working with coloring line art in Photoshop, not just comic book artists and the like.

I can already envision many applications for these in my workflow, even though I am primarily a vector artist.

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Monk/Friar With Beer Keg – Cartoon Mascot Illustration

| George Coghill

Cartoon monk mascot with beer (thumbnail)I recently finished up this ‘Theology On Tap’ cartoon character mascot/logo project for a youth ministries client.

The client is a youth ministries minister, and his new program is focused on bringing discussions of theological matters into more casual settings to try and reach additional young people.

The artwork is intended to be used on various advertising and promotional materials, as well as a t-shirt design.

I thought it odd at first, but I suppose there’s nothing really wrong about talking about religious matters in a bar, right? And I suppose a minister knows the deal. My only concern was to create a great illustration for him and his project.

Anyways, read on for an in-depth overview of the process to create this cartoon character mascot/logo from start to finish, including unused sketches created along the way.

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‘Girl In The Moon’ Pin-Up Cartoon Illustration T-Shirt Available

| George Coghill

Cartoon pin-up girl in the moon t-shirt illustration designI finally got around to getting one of my favorite personal cartoon pin-up illustrations — the ‘Girl In The Moon‘ — available  for purchase over at my Zazzle store.

I have been meaning to get more artwork up there available for purchase, but recently client work has been pretty much taking up all my hours in the day.

Already available are some devil girl pinup illustration t-shirts, stickers, keychains and other items.

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